Will To Survive/PMA

The "Will to Survive” and "Positive Mental Attitude" are key aspects of any survival situation. They are reinforced by faith in your GOD, your Family, your Friends, and your Country. USI ranks the Will to Survive/PMA first in the USI 7+1 Survival Priorities.

Medical Preparation

In a survival situation YOU are the first responder. You may also be the primary transporter and continuing medical support until civilization can be reached or it reaches you. USI ranks medical preparation second in the USI 7+1 Survival Priorities.

Fire Craft

The need to make a fire can NEVER be understated and regardless of the environment, the ability to build a fire is essential to life protection. Fire enhances all other survival priorities, therefore USI ranks fire as third in the USI 7+1 Survival Priorities.

Hydration

The importance of hydration is well known in almost all venues including sports and recreation. In any survival situation, the lack of hydration becomes a life threatening issue. USI ranks hydration as fourth in the USI 7+1 Survival Priorities.

Personal Protection

Protection from the elements is a critical aspect in any survival situation. Physical and environmental injuries can be a direct result of inadequate shelter or clothing. USI ranks personal protection as fifth in the USI 7+1 Survival Priorities.

Communication

The goal of any survival situation is to go home and that can only happen by self extraction or attracting rescue. Although signals should be deployed asap, maintaining life is paramount so USI ranks Communication sixth in the USI 7+1 Survival Priorities.

Sustenance

If it walks, crawls, slithers, swims or flies it may be edible. In accordance with the rule of 3's, in most cases the human body can survive three weeks without a food source. For this reason USI ranks Food seventh in the USI 7+1 Survival Priorities.

Navigation

Navigation is a decision and a skill. The decision to "walk out" of a situation is one which must be based on health, distance and knowledge. Staying put can be as much of a challenge as walking out. Therefore, Navigation is our +1 Survival Priority.

USI staff has been in the S.E.R.E. game since S.E.R.E. Specialists were known as Survival Instructors. We have thirty plus years of continual S.E.R.E. experience and have been part of almost every major change in the survival world. The USI 7+1 Survival Priorities brings some of the old and a lot of the new into a concept of "TOTAL" survival operations which gives the survivor the best chance of getting out alive if the 72 hours runs into 96 or even longer.

Although USI fully believes in the "Big 7" Survival Priorities we also understand survival doesn't stop there. USI's belief that protection from the weather is much more than a good shelter. Protection from the weather also includes choosing correct clothing every time you leave the house. This mentality brings us back to the original S.E.R.E. term "Personal Protection". The term Personal Protection also became one of the guiding priorities for the USI kits containing both shelter and clothing.

The +1 comes from the fact that you cannot eliminate navigation as a survival priority. Although it is taught "along with" the Big 7 survival priorities, it should in fact be a priority in itself. In a situation where rescue is not a possibility or not imminent ( bad weather) and a medical or environmental emergency is at hand, navigation becomes a survivor's best hope. The ability to walk out of a situation is at least as important as food and therefore deserves a ranking as a survival priority.

USI believes in the total commitment to all things SURVIVAL, regardless of it's country of origin or design. However, USI also believes it is the responsibility of all to fully understand and test each item related to survival before it is marketed. You have USI's word that any item which comes from us has been tested under real world conditions and is the same equipment used by us.

If it's not good enough for our family it's not good enough for your's....PERIOD!